A dorsomedial prefrontal cortex-based dynamic functional connectivity model of rumination
Jungwoo Kim, Jessica R. Andrews‐Hanna, Hedwig Eisenbarth, Byeol Kim Lux, Hong Ji Kim, Eunjin Lee, Martin A. Lindquist, Elizabeth A. Reynolds Losin, Tor D. Wager, Choong‐Wan Woo
Abstract
Rumination is a cognitive style characterized by repetitive thoughts about one's negative internal states and is a common symptom of depression. Previous studies have linked trait rumination to alterations in the default mode network, but predictive brain markers of rumination are lacking. Here, we adopt a predictive modeling approach to develop a neuroimaging marker of rumination based on the variance of dynamic resting-state functional connectivity and test it across 5 diverse subclinical and clinical samples (total n = 288). A whole-brain marker based on dynamic connectivity with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) emerges as generalizable across the subclinical datasets. A refined marker consisting of the most important features from a virtual lesion analysis further predicts depression scores of adults with major depressive disorder (n = 35). This study highlights the role of the dmPFC in trait rumination and provides a dynamic functional connectivity marker for rumination.